Electronic mail (E-mail) applications provide users with the ability to store messages in logical folders within the interface similar to that provided by many file systems. E-mail applications also may allow users to group stored messages into logical “conversations.” Each conversation is a group of related messages including a root message and replies to the root message or to one another. When arranged by conversation, messages are displayed in a user interface of the e-mail application as a list of conversations grouped by message subject or thread. The conversations may be sorted by date, and the messages within each conversation may be sorted based on who replied to whom.
Despite the convenience offered by the conversation groups, some e-mail applications limit operations for a conversation to individual conversation items. For example, a user may not desire to engage in a conversation thread discussing lunch options with some colleagues. The user may need to delete the individual conversation items as they arrive to keep their inbox clear. Such operations may be tedious and time consuming for a user, particularly given the increasing volumes of e-mail messages a user might receive on any given day. Consequently, improvements to item management and display techniques are needed to solve these and other problems and to enhance the experience of users in various usage scenarios.